Bears Stay Hot, Topple Three Opponents at Navy

Oct. 21, 2007

Annapolis, MD - The Brown men's water polo team (15-7) extended its winning streak to six games on Saturday, defeating three tough opponents from the CWPA Southern Division, Eastern Region at Navy. The Bears opened the day by avenging an earlier loss to Johns Hopkins, taking a 9-8 victory over the Blue Jays, then upsetting #20 Princeton, 10-7. In the nightcap, Bruno dominated George Washington, which it had only beaten by one goal earlier in the year, 10-3.

For the day, senior co-captain Gerrit Adams (Winnetka, IL) and junior Mike Gartner (San Jose, CA) tied for the team lead with six goals apiece, while junior Nico Fort (Miami, FL) was right behind with five. Sophomore Kent Holland (Orinda, CA) had a fantastic day in the cage, making 31 saves over the three contests.

Against the Blue Jays, Brown took command early, holding leads between each quarter. However, Hopkins scored three times to start the fourth quarter, tying the game 7-7 with five minutes to play. After the teams traded goals, Gartner scored the game-winner with 1:58 remaining, as the Bears and Holland, who made two big saves to preserve the lead, held on. Adams had a pair of assists to go with his team-high four goals. Gartner drew three ejections in the game to lead the Bears, while junior Hank Weintraub (Los Angeles, CA) had three assists and five steals.

Next came the ranked Tigers, but Brown jumped all over them early as well, taking an 8-2 lead early in the third quarter. Princeton made a game out of it, going on a 5-1 run to close the gap to two goals, but again the Bears held on, adding one more for the 10-7 final. Fort led seven Brown scorers with three goals, with Adams adding a pair.

Finally, against George Washington, the Brown defense clamped down hard, led by Holland's 15 saves. Again, seven Bears made the scoresheet, led by the junior trio of Gartner, Weintraub, and Grant LeBeau (San Diego, CA), who had two goals each. Freshman Brandon Yoshimura (Haverford, PA) sparked the Bears in the second half, drawing two ejections and helping to key the defensive effort.

After such a successful Saturday, the Bears will be rewarded with their highest-ranked Eastern opponent of the season in #11 Navy on Sunday. That will be the team's second game of the day, after a morning match-up with Navy's B team.

Brown 3 2 2 3 - 9
Johns Hopkins 1 2 1 4 - 8
Goals: Adams 4, Gartner 3, Fort, Schwartz
Saves: Holland 10

Brown 4 3 2 1 - 10
Princeton 1 1 4 1 - 7
Goals: Fort 3, Adams 2, Gartner, Hood, LeBeau, Schwartz, Weintraub
Saves: Holland 6

Brown 1 3 2 4 - 10
George Washington 1 0 2 0 - 3
Goals: Gartner 2, LeBeau 2, Weintraub 2, Fort, Hood, Robb, Schwartz
Saves: Holland 15